5 months old!

Dear Kayden-
I feel like I start every letter with "I can't believe you are already __ months old!" But seriously... each month just keeps flying by! You are learning so much and getting so big that I can't even believe that you were that 6 pound baby just 5 months ago. You have yet again learned so much and changed so much this month that I don't even know where to start. You have started sitting up a lot more on your own. You love sitting in your pack n play playing with your little workbench. I keep the boppy pillow behind you just in case you decide to rest a little bit! You are starting to roll over too... even though you don't seem to like it too much. We have to put a bunch of toys to one side so that you will want to go get them, and we still have to help you a little bit but you are getting there!

This month you also started eating rice cereal! You were not a big fan of it the first couple times we gave it to you, so we waited two more weeks and decided to try it again right before you turned 5 months old. You ate it like a pro and loved it! We also gave you a sippy cup. You instantly grabbed it and pulled it to your mouth but you weren't quite sure what to do with it. You mostly just wanted to chew on it, but that's ok!

I still enjoy watching you smile and laugh all the time. You are a very happy baby and for that I am thankful. You will smile at anyone who is willing to talk to you and will laugh if they make funny faces or play peek a boo with you.

This past month you also experienced ALOT of snow. We haven't let you get out and play in it but maybe next year we will get a lot too so that you can see what it is like. You enjoy looking out the window and watching the puppies play in it though! And speaking of puppies, you also got a new dog this month! Mommy and Daddy adopted Izzy from the humane society. While she may be a handful, she absolutely adores you, and you her. I see many great times in the future! :)

5 months! Next time I write a letter to you, you will be half a year old! While it seems like the months are flying by, it's hard for me to remember what my life was like before you. You have made your mommy and daddy very happy and have loved every minute of the past 5 months! You are such a joy to us and we love you SOOOO much!

Love,
Your mommy :)

4 months old!

Dear Kayden-
You are 4 months old!! This past month you had a ton of new things going on! You had your first Christmas and we were all over the place! We were off of your schedule for the most part but you were still a great baby! Everyone enjoyed playing with you and some people in your family got to see you for the first time! Even though it was crazy, we all still had fun. Mommy and daddy enjoyed spending our first christmas with you. Even though you were not old enough to open the present by yourself you still enjoyed looking at all your new toys. A lot of them you can't quite play with yet, but soon enough!

You are still growing and learning and amazing mommy every day! You laugh out loud all the time now! You really like when mommy and daddy "scare" you. We say something really quickly at you and you just jump, but you think it's hilarious! You will laugh if we do it over and over again! You also smile at everyone! If they talk to you, you will smile at them! You have become quite a happy boy and I am so thankful!

You still really enjoy playing on your play mat, but you are still not too big of a fan of tummy time. We have to do it a lot because of physical therapy but you are getting close to rolling over. You just haven't quite figured out how to do it regularly yet.

You also LOVE standing up! It is so hard to get you to do anything else when we are holding you. You very rarely like to lay down when people hold you now. It's either sitting up or standing up. You have strong legs though and force people to make you stand up :)

You are starting to really grasp and play with toys now. You play with the toys on your carseat whenever you are in there and you also grab your toys on your play mat. You love to try and pull them down into your mouth even though they are hanging above your head. You try and put EVERYTHING in your mouth already, but you really enjoy putting your hands in your mouth. You eat your hands ALL. THE. TIME :)

We are still having issues with you sleeping but that's ok. You still sleep in the bed with mommy and daddy but at least you are starting to sleep 6 hours straight at night. You usually wake up around 5:30 in the morning for a bottle and will then go back to sleep until 9 or 930, which mommy is ok with because she goes back to sleep too! I still have to hold you when you nap, but you have recently started falling asleep if mommy lays you in her bed and lays down with you for a little bit. You can't stay in mommy's bed forever though so you are going to have to get use to the crib soon!

This month mommy also had to switch you to being solely formula fed. While this was really hard on mommy, you absolutely loved formula and had no problems at all once we found the right type. You were much happier once we switched you to formula so while mommy was sad that she was no longer nursing, I knew it was the right decision and you were getting more food. I know you will still be a smart boy even if you are fed formula :)

You continue to grow and amaze mommy and i can't wait to see what the next month has in store. You are growing up so quick though so I would really appreciate it if you slowed down just a little. I am loving the fact that I can be home and spend all the time in the world with you while you are so young though. You are an amazing little boy and you have brought so much joy to me. I love you so much baby boy!
Love- Mommy

3 months old!

Dear Kayden-
You have learned so much this past month! It has been so much fun to watch you grow and see what type of personality you have. You love your mommy and daddy very much. So much so that you hate to be away from them in your crib. You do well some nights, but most of the time you scream and mommy has to put you in the bed with them. I know that you will grow out of this and no longer will want mommy and daddy around so I try to enjoy it while I can.

You have also started laughing out loud alot! You laugh when daddy scares you and it is so cute. Daddy will surprise you and you just giggle! You have an adorable little laugh. But you don't like for mommy to videotape it. As soon as I pull out the recorder, you stop. One day I will catch you though :) You also LOVE laying on your changing table. We don't know what it is about it but you will become this really happy baby when we lay you on the changing table. Daddy jokes all the time that we should just let you sleep there so you won't scream :)

This month you started physical therapy because we found out you had a little problem with your neck called torticolous. You are doing great with your physical therapy though. The first appointment you were not too fond of Ms. Kelly poking and proding you but once she started letting you play with toys you warmed up to her. We have already noticed a lot of improvement with your neck and you are even starting to want to sit up on your own!

This month you also had your first overnight visit with Nana. While mommy didn't want you to leave, daddy told me that I really needed some sleep so we let nana watch you. I missed you very much but you had so much fun with Nana and Grampa. You played and laughed and talked to them. You even slept 7.5 hours for them! Audrey also ended up staying the night with you so I'm glad you did so well for them.

I know you are going to continue to learn and grow everyday and I can't wait to see what the next month has in store! You will also have your first Christmas which mommy is soooo excited about!

Love you baby boy!
Mommy :)

2 months old!

Dear Kayden-
Where is the time going! I can't believe you are now 2 months old! You have learned so much during this past month! You smile all the time now. Especially in the mornings. Your dad and I love when you first get up in the morning because you just smile and talk to us. You also have lots of conversations! You love talking to your dad and I, and even your animals on your play mat! You all have some great conversations and it's just funny to listen to!

You have also started staying awake more during the day which is so much fun! We play on your play mat, swing in your swing, have conversations while you are lounging in your boppy.... I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you, or if I had to go back to work! I can't believe everything I would be missing. You are just a joy in my life and I love playing with you everyday!

Just today you started sitting up in your bumbo and you look like such a big boy! It won't be long until you are sitting up all by yourself without any help! You are starting to roll too! You haven't completely rolled yet but when you get mad or excited you roll to the side. I just know one day soon I'm going to walk out of the kitchen and you are going to have rolled over all by yourself! I don't think you will like it much though because you hate being on your belly. We still have to do the majority of tummy time when you are laying on mommy or daddy's chest because of how much you hate being on your belly... but you are getting really good at holding your head up so we aren't too concerned :)

You have also started sleeping for long stretches at night which makes your mommy very happy! You will consistently go about 5 hours during the night, feed, and then sleep for another 4 hours! You are an amazing sleeper!!

We tried getting you to sleep in your crib for nap times but you did not like that at all! That's ok though, I'm sure you will get use to it eventually....and until then, you will just continue sleeping in your swing or when mommy holds you.. because I don't mind :)

On your 2 month birthday you got your first big set of shots! Mommy was so nervous for you but you were just a trooper! You screamed when they gave them to you but as soon as it was over you started smiling! Mommy cried, but you did so well!

You are such an amazing little boy. I am so thankful that God gave you to me and has blessed us with you. We couldn't have asked for a better baby!

We love you so much baby boy!
Love, your mommy!

1 month old!

Dear Kayden-
I can't believe you are already one month old! I feel like it was just yesterday that your dad and I found out that we were pregnant and here you are! This past month has been the best month of my life. You have brought so much joy to your dad and I. I can't believe that just one little person can make us so happy. We have enjoyed getting to know you. Sometime I just sit and hold you and look at you. I can't get enough of you. Everyone says that if you hold a baby all the time that you will spoil them, but I know that there will come a time where you do not want me to hold you all the time so I do it. I enjoy just staring at you as you sleep, wondering what you are thinking and what you will be like when you get older.
This month you have been very busy! You have gone on several short trips with mommy, most of them being to your grandparents house but we have also just recently ventured out to church and to the store. On your 4 week birthday on Friday we went to the pumpkin patch! You slept through the whole thing though. You have also started holding your head up and staying awake more which I love. I love watching you just take in everything around you and try to figure things out. You will look at me and just stare for long periods of time and I will just stare right back at you. You are the best baby and I couldn't have asked for anything more. You have been such an easy baby. You eat well and LOVE to sleep... which makes your momma happy! Some of your favorite things are the bouncy seat, the boppy, watching your daddy play video games, your momma holding you, and Skye. Oh how Skye loves you too! You have been so good to let Skye lick you and it not bother you. Skye loves to give you kisses (even though mommy doesn't like it!) I can't wait for you to get older and play with him. He can't wait either. Mommy was very worried about how Skye would do with you because he is an attention hog but he has shared it well, and he is very protective of you. You two will be best buds!
We have prayed endlessly for you, and to now have you in our arms is more than I could have imagined. I thank God for every day that I get to spend with you and I can't wait to see what the other months have in store.
I love you so much baby boy!
Love, Your momma!